Honestly, nothing gets better than Friends. There are 236 episodes and that just isn't enough. So this year, instead of getting your friends something that they will only appreciate a little bit, buy them something that they will love. Friends is the way to anybody's heart these days!
Fin is taken back to his army roots when he must visit his former military precinct when an army ranger is sexually assaulted. We learn more about Fin's time with the military and his perspective on it.
In an episode where SVU handled three different cases at the same time, Fin connects to a mother and son who are being physically abused by her boyfriend.
The mother, Joelle initially refused to work with Fin and SVU, unwilling to have her boyfriend, Leon, imprisoned for attacking her. Fin later convinces her to cooperate for the sake of her son, Andre, in which she agrees to take Leon to trial.
Fin takes a special interest in a case involving a junkie rape victim with more demons than most and connects with her. We see a side of Fin where he empathizes with the rape victim, only for her to spin up lie after lie.
Although this episode is a big one for Benson, who shines undercover, let's not forget Fin was also undercover with her as a prison guard and comes to Benson's rescue when she is almost raped by the corrupt guard who was suspected of raping female inmates.
In this wild episode, a video game enthusiast who kidnapped a woman is up on a rooftop with Carisi and Rollins. Fin rushes out to the rooftop and as the criminal turns at him with the gun, he shoots him dead to the ground.
He was put on unpaid administrative leave, but Benson told him it was a good shoot and to keep his gun and badge.
Fin teams up with Brooklyn SVU detective Chester Lake in the investigation involving the brutal rape of a friend of Ken, Fin's son.
This episode is a strong one for Fin and shows his good partnership win Lake before they eventually become partners in season 9.
Tensions between Fin and his family when his ex-wife's son goes on trial for rape and murder and digs into the past of the SVU detectives to use in his defense in this interesting season finale.
When a brother claims his sister was gang raped, Fin takes a personal interest in the case, seeing the family comes from the projects, rooting to his own history.
One of the best qualities of Fin from the early seasons was his great chemistry and partnership with Detective John Munch. In this episode, Fin and Munch go on a manhunt together through upstate New York to catch a serial rapist/murderer before he crosses the border into Canada.
Fin's son returns when his fiancé is brutally assaulted by a street gang which proves to be the latest crime in a series of hate crimes against gay men. Once again, Fin must work with his son to help solve a crime, as well as come to terms with who his son is and learn to be ok with that.
After tracking down a rape suspect from six years prior all the way to Cuba, Fin basically kidnaps Byron Marks in Havana and brings him to New York City, causing a political tug-of-war for Benson and Barba. Seeing how far Fin will go to ensure justice is served, offers a new perspective to his character we hadn't seen before.
When the abusive boyfriend of a former victim is released from prison, Fin makes it his biggest mission to watch after Leon Fuller, and protect his family from him. He even goes to the extent to give the young boy Andre a phone.
When he is called by Andre to the apartment, tensions arise between Leon and his family where Fin is forced to shoot him dead to the ground. He later tells Benson that no kid should ever have to see a parent die.
It takes an even more emotional toll on Fin, when he is surprised to realize that Leon's former girlfriend is suing him for wrongful death.
The death of a prostitute at a brothel leads SVU to team up with the Vice Unit, as Fin reunites with Sergeant Phoebe Baker, his former partner from narcotics in which they shared a romantic relationship together.
When suspicions arise that Baker could be a mole, Fin defends his former partner. He later asks her out on a date, but she declines, saying she's seeing someone else now. This episode shows us a part of Fin's love life and past we hadn't seen before.
After his ex-brother-in-law is arrested for the brutal attack of a priest, Fin works with SVU to clear his name despite his past criminal record, because he believes he's innocent.
This leads the squad to uncover a church scandal where we see Fin work greatly with Rollins, where he even invites her to a family dinner at the end of the episode.
Fin's son, Ken, becomes the prime suspect in a homicide investigation, which leads to a rollercoaster ride into Fin's family issues, where it is revealed his ex-wife was raped by her own father and had a child, Darius.
Darius who hates Fin, was the true culprit of the crime and confessed it to his half-brother, Ken, who protected him.
Fin's ties to a suspect take him off the case, leading to the reveal that his mother was killed right in front of him when he was a young boy. This was something unknown about Fin's history in an episode featuring a real-life friend of Ice T: Snoop Dog.
Fin eventually covers up for his past friend and walks away at the end as if nothing ever happened, showing his personal loyalties might sometimes overshadow those to the police department.
When Detective Rollins is shot with a sniper while exiting the precinct, Fin's past as a narcotics officer emerge when the daughter of his former partner, who took a bullet for him, seeks revenge on him and his new partner, Rollins.
This leads to a hostage situation with Fin and his ex-partner's daughter in which he is forced to defuse, feeling everything is his fault.
While working a case with Benson involving the murder of two gay men at a circus party, Fin learns that his son Ken is gay and has difficulty accepting it. He must later come to accept him as he assists him and Benson in the investigation.
At the end of the case, where Fin is shocked to see the killer's father plead for reduced sentencing, he calls Ken on the phone in efforts to reconcile his relationship with him.
Fin takes the lead on a case to find a racist targeting the children of local immigrants, even clashing with a local celebrity over the matter. Fin's son, Ken, then gets involved in the case when he defends the local celebrity, once again causing tensions between the two.
We see Fin struggle with himself when he is unable to find the killer early on in the episode, but then we see him in full force with passion and what makes him a great detective. This case drives him because of the racism that still exists out there in society, from all shapes and forms.
In what might be the biggest episode of the series for Fin, he gets caught off-duty in a convenience store robbery where he is forced to shoot and kill two teenage boys becoming wounded himself.
Fin becomes reunited with his son, Ken after Manu years, but is later accused of being a dirty cop for not helping the daughter of a woman he knew from his undercover days in narcotics.
Fin later finds her murdered after trying to find her daughter. Exonerated from the convenience store shooting when the robber's gun is found by video camera footage, Fin was hailed a hero, but the fact that he killed two teenagers haunted him to his core.
Not only does it make me feel closer to her, but it also gives me a song to cling to for a while. By my count, Taylor Swift mentions 13 different ages in her songs.
This is the youngest age mentioned in a Taylor Swift song, which means you probably didn't listen to this song on your third birthday. This age comes from the song The Best Day off of her second album, Fearless. The song chronicles Swift's life at multiple ages and is above all a love letter to her family.
The lyrics:
"There is a video I found from back when I was three. You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me. It's the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs."
This is another age mentioned in The Best Day. It is part of the song's opening line. Unlike age three, where Swift is seeing something and not actually remembering it, this appears to be a memory from age five with her mother sometime in October.
The lyrics:
"I'm five years old, it's getting cold. I've got my big coat on. I hear your laugh, and look up smiling at you. I run and run past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides. Look now, the sky is gold. I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home."
This is one of five ages mentioned in Mary's Song (Oh My My My) from Swift's self-titled debut album. This song tells the story of a guy and a girl going from young friends to an old couple, from the perspective of the girl. Swift was inspired to write this song by an elderly couple that lived next door.
The lyrics:
"She said, I was 7 and you were 9. I looked at you like the stars that shined in the sky. The pretty lights. And our daddies used to joke about the two of us, growing up and falling in love. And our mommas smiled, and rolled their eyes, and said 'Oh, my my my.'"
This is the second of five ages in Mary's Song. It is mentioned directly after age 7 since it is the age of the guy in the song, who is two years older than the girl.
The lyrics:
"She said, I was 7 and you were 9. I looked at you like the stars that shined in the sky. The pretty lights."
This goes back to The Best Day. Swift is no longer five, and she has new problems to deal with. Thankfully, her mom is by her side, like always. I was always able to relate to this part of the song, even before and since I turned 13.
The lyrics:
"I'm 13 now and don't know how my friends could be so mean. I come home crying, and you hold me tight, and grab the keys. And we drive and drive until we've found a town far enough away. And we talk and window shop 'til I've forgot all their names."
You don't have to look hard to find this one. In fact, it's the name of the song. This song is also on Swift's Fearless album. It's about her beginning high school. She talks about friendship, love, and dreams. She even mentions the name of her real life best friend at the time, who she is still friends with now. Since it's the name of the song, 15 is mentioned multiple times.
The lyrics:
"'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you're gonna believe them. And when you're fifteen, feeling like there's nothing to figure out. Well, count to ten, take it in. This is life before you know who you're gonna be. Fifteen."
"When you're fifteen and your first kiss makes your head spin 'round. But in your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team. But I didn't know it at fifteen."
"When you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall. I've found time can heal most anything, and you just might find who you're supposed to be. I didn't who I was supposed to be at fifteen."
We return to Mary's Song for this one. After the two young kids have grown up a little, their perspective on both life and each other changes. This is a turning point in their relationship. Remember, the song is told from the girl's perspective, so she's talking about her age.
The lyrics:
"Well, I was sixteen when, suddenly, I wasn't that little girl you used to see. But your eyes still shined like pretty lights. And our daddies used to joke about the two of us. They never believed we'd really fall in love. And our mommas smiled, and rolled their eyes, and said 'Oh, my my my.'"
We jump forward a few albums for this one. The song Starlight on Swift's Red album tells the story of young Ethel and Bobby Kennedy. She saw a picture of Ethel and Bobby as teenagers, which inspired her to write a song about it. She actually played it for Ethel, who enjoyed it.
The lyrics:
"I met Bobby on the boardwalk, summer of '45. Picked me up late one night out the window. We were seventeen and crazy, running wild, wild. Can't remember what song it was playing when we walked in. The night we snuck into a yacht club party pretending to be a duchess and a prince."
We skip over age 18 because apparently that's been done too many times for Taylor Swift to bother with it. 19, which happens to be the age of yours truly, is mentioned in Dear John, off of Swift's third album, Speak Now. This song is allegedly about Swift's relationship with John Mayer, which fits the timeline since she was 19 when they dated. I have always loved this song but felt a deeper connection to it when I turned 19.
The lyrics:
"Dear John, I see it all now, it was wrong. Don't you think nineteen's too young to be played by your dark, twisted games when I loved you so? I should've known."
Certainly, everyone is familiar with this one. It is Swift's second song titled with an age and a popular anthem for people who are proud to be 22 and aren't afraid to dance like it. This is a song from the Red album, which came out shortly before Swift's 23 birthday.
The lyrics:
"I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22. Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you. You don't know about me, but I'll bet you want to. Everything will be alright if we just keep dancing like we're 22."
This age is mentioned in a song off Swift's most recent album, Reputation. As I subtly mentioned at the beginning, I'm not a fan of Taylor Swift's new music. For the sake of being thorough, though, I scanned Reputation for ages. I found 25 mentioned in the song Dancing With Our Hands Tied.
The lyrics:
"I, I loved you in secret. First sight, yeah, we love without reason. Oh, twenty-five years old. Oh, how were you to know?"
We jump ahead quite a bit for this one! Obviously Taylor Swift isn't 87 yet, so she's not speaking from experience. At this point, you can probably guess which song this is from. If you thought Mary's Song, you're correct! This is at the end of the song, where the young friends are finally an old couple. The future tense implies that the couple this song is based on aren't quite that old. However, they intend on staying together until they are.
The lyrics:
"I'll be 87, you'll be 89. I'll still look at you like the stars that shine in the sky. Oh my, my, my."
I could have combined 7 and 9, and 87 and 89 since they're so close together, but I wanted to make a point. If you've been paying attention to the numbers before the ages, you'll notice that this is the 13th age mentioned in a Taylor Swift song. If you're a Taylor Swift fan, you probably already know what that means. If not, let me enlighten you. 13 is Swift's lucky number. She was born on December 13 and turned 13 on Friday the 13. The number 13 is also connected to her music. Some of her songs have 13-second intros. Some of her albums have 13 songs. Some songs peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Could that fact that Taylor Swift mentions 13 different ages in her music be a coincidence? It could, but it seems unlikely. When it comes to Taylor Swift, there are hardly any coincidences. Since she has been using ages in songs since her first album, it is likely she will mention more on subsequent albums. However, she has never gone less than four years in-between albums, so this 13 reference will stick around for quite some time.
